Dow Jones Sells Stake In Stoxx For $309 Million

Dow Jones has unloaded its stake in European index provider Stoxx — in what is likely the first of several divestitures for the company under owner News Corp (NYSE: NWS). Dow Jones is selling its one-third interest in Stoxx, which operates the Dow Jones Stoxx Indices, to partners Deutsche Boerse and SIX Swiss Exchange for $309 million, in addition to $44 million depending on its “future business performance.”

Dow Jones is trying to sell its entire indexing business, which includes the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and, in a statement, Dow Jones CEO Les Hinton hints at that larger effort, saying the sale of Stoxx is a “result of a strategic evaluation of Dow Jones’ index businesses.” The WSJreported in August that the business could be valued at upwards of $700 million.